Jan. 8--TOKYO -- Tokyo and Washington have yet to clear a score of hurdles over the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, despite a Japanese-U.S. accord last year.
The shifting of the air station's functions to the marines' Camp Schwab on the coast of Nago is a major pillar of the Japanese-U.S. agreement on the realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan.
A third round of talks is scheduled for Jan. 17--although there may be a delay--between the central government, the Okinawa prefectural government and local municipal governments concerned.
The central government and the municipalities--the city of Nago and three towns and villages--favor a plan to build an airfield with two 1,800-meter runways arranged in a V-shaped pattern on the Nago coast and nearby landfill.
Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima, however, is against the plan, insisting the airfield is too close to residential areas and could affect residents. He also has maintained that the plan should be in line with the U.S. commitment to have Futenma Air Station--which is in the densely populated city of Ginowan--closed down within three years.
Current laws require authorization by the Okinawa governor for landfill work necessary for the airfield construction plan.
"Thank you for coming all the way to the Cabinet Office the other day for our last consultation meeting [on the base relocation]," said Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Suzuki when he met with Nago Mayor Yoshikazu Shimabukuro at the Nago municipal government office Sunday.
The government's deputy chief spokesman added, "I'm truly glad to have an opportunity today to extend our thanks to you once more, as we're well aware that you, as head of Nago, have been tasked with the heaviest of duties" for bringing about the V-shape airfield.
Subsequently, Suzuki also was humble when he met the heads of the three municipalities of Higashison, Ginozason and Kincho.
Talking with each for about 30 minutes, Suzuki stressed, "The central government is strongly determined to do our best to ensure settlement [of the airfield issue] in a way satisfactory to all of you."
The visits by Suzuki, who will coordinate the upcoming joint consultation, were intended as a message that the Cabinet Office will act responsibly in addressing the relocation issue, sources close to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
The future process for finalizing the plan, however, is still up in the air.
In a meeting Sunday with Suzuki, Nakaima reiterated his two conditions for giving the go-ahead to the planned airfield: modification of the central government's V-shape design; and removal of possible hazards relating to Futenma Air Station, including its closure in three years.
Regarding possible changes to the government-drafted plan, Defense Agency Director General Fumio Kyuma made an unexpectedly flexible statement Wednesday.
"A plan that can secure the agreement of the three parties of Okinawa Prefecture, Nago City and the United States would be good, no matter what it may be," he said.
Kyuma also indicated he was considering an alternative plan with a single runway off Camp Schwab.
But Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki downplayed Kyuma's remarks.
At a press conference Friday, Shiozaki said the forthcoming consultation should focus on the central government's plan.
He said Kyuma's remarks "have apparently been made to stress the importance of an agreement among the Japanese and U.S. governments and localities for the implementation of this plan."
Foreign Minister Taro Aso appeared displeased with Kyuma's remarks and said the same day that the construction plan of a V-shaped airfield should go forward as is, citing that the agreement was signed by the senior foreign and defense officials of Japan and the United States last May in Washington.
Kyuma's remarks were tantamount to reversing the official accord between Tokyo and Washington, Aso added.
Other government sources said, there could be little room for a major modification to the V-shape plan, as time for discussing the issue with the United States is limited.
Some officials said a face-saving compromise for Nakaima could be made if minor changes are made to the current plan, such as shifting the airfield offshore a few dozen meters to reduce noise and preventing aircraft from flying over nearby communities.
To ensure the base relocation plan goes smoothly in line with the May 2006 accord, the central government has adopted an elaborately calculated carrot-and-stick policy for affected areas.
One example is a bill for creating a special law to promote the U.S. force realignment, which the government will present to an ordinary Diet session convening Jan. 25. The bill calls for creating a new tax grant system for local governments facing increased burdens in hosting U.S. military installations.
The government earmarked 5.1 billion yen in such grants in its 2007 national budget, which will be allocated to local entities in proportion to their pace of progress in accepting the government-planned realignment projects.
The more cooperative the local governments are with the plans, the more cash they will receive for improving infrastructure such as roads, harbors and other facilities.
In addition to the special grant system, the government will continue disbursing 100 billion yen a year for economic development in the northern part of Okinawa Island to benefit local entities ready to take part in the joint central government-Okinawa Prefecture-local government consultation.
Bitter measures have been taken under this policy on the municipal government of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, which has opposed plans for transferring U.S. carrier-based aircraft from the U.S. Naval Air Facility in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, to the marine corps' Iwakuni Air Station.
The Defense Facilities Administration Agency, which is in charge of managing facilities for Japan's defense forces and the U.S. military, has shelved budgetary appropriation plans for fiscal 2007 that were intended to help finance construction of a new building for the Iwakuni municipal government. The agency also has dropped a plan to help construct facilities relating to a planned civilian airport that Iwakuni citizens want to see built on the air station.
By Yoshifumi Sugita, Kiyoshi Miyamoto and Shinya Yamada
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